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Note (Table is not carried beyond) (II)

The table is not carried beyond the sixth game, as in the next and every succeeding six games the odds recur in the same positions.

The above odds may be owed in augmentation of other owed odds.

Fifteen is one stroke owed at the beginning of every game of a set.

Thirty is two strokes owed at the beginning of every game of a set.

Forty is three strokes owed at the beginning of every game of a set.

THE THREE-HANDED AND FOUR-HANDED GAMES. 27. The above laws shall apply to the threehanded and four-handed games, except as below. 28. For the three-handed and four-handed games, the Court is 36 ft. in width. Within the Side-Lines, at a distance of 4 ft. from them, and parallel with them, are drawn the Service- Side-Lines. In other respects, the Court is similar to that which is described in Law I. 29. In the three-handed game the single player shall serve in every alternate game. 30. In the four-handed game, the pair who have the right to serve in the first game may decide which partner shall do so, and the opposing pair may decide similarly for the second game. The partner of the player who served in the first game shall serve in the third; and the partner of the player who served in the second game shall serve in the fourth, and so on in the same order in all the subsequent games of a set. 31. The players shall take the service alternately throughout each game; no player shall receive or return a service delivered to his partner; and the order of service and of striking-out once arranged shall not be altered, nor shall the Striker-out change Courts to receive the service before the end of the set. 32. The ball served must drop within the Service-Line, Half-Court-Line, and Service-Side- Line of the Court, which is diagonally opposite to that from which it was served, or upon any such line. 33. It is a fault if the ball do not drop as provided in Law 32, or if it touch the server's partner or anything that he wears or carries. If, however, the ball in service strike either the Strikerout or his partner, the Server wins the stroke. 34. If a player serve out of his turn, the Umpire, as soon as the mistake is discovered by himself or by one of the players, shall direct the player to serve who ought to have served; but all strokes scored, and any fault served, before such discovery, shall be reckoned. If a game shall have been completed before such discovery, then the service in the next alternate game shall be delivered by the partner of the player who served out of his turn; and so on in regular rotation.

As a double Court practically includes every line to be found in a single Court, it is best to first take the measurement for the latter. Having determined the position of your net, plant in the ground in the line chosen two pegs, 27 ft. apart (at the points A and B in the diagram). Then take two measures and attach their respective ends to the pegs A and B. On the first, which will measure the diagonal of the Court, take a length of 47 ft. 5 in., on the other 39 ft.; pull both taut in such directions that at these distances they meet in a point C. This will give one corner of the Court. At the point F, 21 ft. from B, put in a peg to mark the end of the service-line. The other corner, D, and the other end of the service-line, G, may be found by interchanging the measures and repeating the process. The same measurements on the other side of the net will complete the exterior boundaries of the Court. By prolonging the base-lines 4 ft. 6 in. in each direction, and joining the four new points thus obtained, we can make the side-lines of a double Court. It only remains to mark the central line. This is done by joining the middle points of the service-lines. If a double Court alone is required, the interior side-lines need not 27 ft.

A B HOW TO MARK OUT A COURT. 47 ft. 5 in.

G 39 ft.

F Base line.

D C be prolonged to meet the base-lines; but for obvious reasons nearly all courts are marked out so as to be available both for single and double play. Remember that in all cases the net posts must stand at a distance of three feet from the side-lines, and therefore that, if a single game is to be played in a double Court, the net (unless the posts are shifted and a single court net is used) should be stayed up to the right height by means of subsidiary posts placed at a distance of 3 ft. from the single Court side-lines. Special posts for this purpose, usually known as "singleposts," which can be quickly set up and removed, are obtainable from all makers of lawn tennis implements.

Bibliography.-Lawn Tennis, Wilfred Baddeley (Routledge); R. F. and H. L. Doherty on Lawn Tennis (L. P. Hill), 1903; Modern Lawn Tennis, P. A. Vaile (Heinemann), 1904; Great Lawn Tennis Players, G. W. Beldam and P. A.

Vailė (Macmillan), 1905; The Complete Lawn Tennis Player, A. W. Myers (Methuen), 1908; Strokes and Science of Lawn Tennis, P. A. Vaile (British Sports Publishing Co.).

LAPWING.-[See PEEWIT.] has LAZOING.-Though the "lazo" been known from very early times both in Europe and Asia, yet it was, perhaps, never brought either to such general use or perfection in usage as it has been since the horses of Diego de Mendoza in South America, and those of Cortés and Alvarado in North America, spread over the prairies and pampas, multiplied in vast numbers and became wild. [LAZOING THROWING A LAZO. FIRST POSITION.

Probably more misconception exists as to the use and capabilities of the lazo than in regard to any other equally well-known implement in the whole field of sport.

Though the dispeller of popular errors is as unpopular an individual as the proverbial peacemaker, it may not be without use to give a slight account of the lazo, its management and capabilities. a In the Argentine Republic, in Southern Brazil, and in the Republic of Uruguay, lazos are made of raw hide plaited in four strands. In Chile they are of raw hide, twisted into three-strand rope. Their length, in all four countries, ranges from sixty to eighty, or, at the outside, ninety feet. In general they are about the thickness of the little finger of a man's hand. In Chile they are a little thicker, owing to the looser method of construction. In the above-mentioned countries (with the exception of Chile) at the extreme end of the lazo is spliced a ring of about two ounces in weight. At the end retained in the hand is a button formed like a Turk's head knot, and a strap of raw hide serving as a buttonhole. This button is fastened into a strong iron ring placed just behind the rider's thigh in the circingle, which forms the girth of the South American saddle, called "recado" in the Pampas, and "enjalma " in Chile.

In the latter country no ring is used, but at both ends there is a button and strap.

The length of the lazo determines the extent of the throw, and as an ordinary lazo is about sixty-six feet in length, it follows that eighteen, or, at the most, twenty yards, is the outside limit at which an animal can be THROWING A LAZO. SECOND POSITION.

LAZOING] caught by it, and that only when thrown from a horse galloping. On foot, twelve to fifteen yards is considered a good throw.

To throw the lazo it is necessary to make a noose at one end of the rope, from two to five yards in circumference. The iron animal or to catch a fore or hind foot, or to catch the two fore feet of a running in many other ways.

Lazos in South America are kept soft and pliable by frequent greasing.

In Mexico and South America lazos are ROPING A HORSE. ring should be allowed to hang about five feet from the hand. Then, gathering the slack of the rope into small coils, the lazoer swings the lazo round his head several times, taking care that the noose in circling round his head keeps open, and lets it go when the right hand is just over the right ear. No strength is required in throwing when on horseback, and much less when on foot than a spectator might imagine.

When the lazo has settled over the horns of the animal (if a bullock) or round the neck (if a horse), care must be taken to keep the animal lazoed always on the off side of your horse. On no account should it be allowed to cross to the near side, nor should the lazo be allowed to touch the horse ridden, either in throwing or in "working" the lazoed animal. Neglect of this precaution has cost many a man his life, as even a tame horse when touched by the lazo, and still more when entangled in it, is apt to buck or throw himself down. The lazo should be kept taut, which is accomplished by keeping your horse always bearing to the near side. There is no danger of being pulled over, as the weight of the horse, plus the rider and saddle, exceeds that of any bullock to be found in prairies or pampas.

On foot, the lazo is used to catch the feet of animals or to catch animals in a corral. It can be used with great accuracy made either of horsehair or of the fibres of the aloe and other plants, and in Texas and California of hemp. In no case in these countries is a ring used. Mexicans generally use a button and strap, and Texans and Californians merely tie a bowline on a bight, and pass the other end of ROPING A MAN. FIRST POSITION! TUOTЯT the rope through the bight to form the noose. The lazo used in Mexico and North America seldom exceeds sixty feet in length and is often shorter. It is made fast to the high pommel of the Mexican saddle, and, being thus in front of the rider, can be thrown on the "near" as well as on the "off" side, or, if the lazoed animal crosses, the lazo can be shifted over the horse's head with little danger.

SO Mexicans and Texans are probably not skilful horseback on as the South Americans, but more dexterous than they in the use of the lazo on foot. Technically speaking, the lazo is hardly a sport, as it is rarely used for amusement, but it is a difficult, a dangerous, and a picturesque exercise, and to acquire its use in perfection a man must be a skilful horseman, pos- [LAZOING races. This species is characterised by the ground-colour of the fur being generally some shade of yellow, and by the black rosettes usually having no black spot in the central area. Its range includes the greater part of Africa, Asia Minor, Persia, Baluchistan, India, Assam, Ceylon, Burma, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, and China. Apparently the name Panther properly belongs to one of the African races, in most of which the spots are small and a large number of them solid. North and East African leopards are, however, largespotted, like the Asiatic races. There is a very small leopard (F. p. nauopardus) in ROPING A MAN. SECOND POSITION. sessed above all of good hands, and must have practised from his earliest youth.

In guerilla warfare the lazo is a useful weapon, and can be used, moreover, to drag a gun or wagon out of mud or through a river, for, by attaching the lazo to the gun carriage or wagon, four or five men can instantly add the strength of their horses to that of the team. The Spaniards say of the guitar that it requires no science, but only strength in the wrists and perseverance; and the same may be said of the lazo, if we add judgment, a cool head, a firm seat, and a horse that can turn upon a Mexican's poblano" hat. 66 R. B. CUNNINGHAME GRAHAM.

LEOPARDS AND PANTHERS.-DIS- TRIBUTION OF. -In spite of the great difference in size between the animals popularly known the Leopard and Panther, both are now invariably included by zoologists in the single species Felis pardus, of which, however, there are several local as Somaliland. In the Albany district of South Africa occurs a dark variety in which there is often a distinct black stripe down the middle of the back, and the spots elsewhere are much broken up and very numerous.

Whether this form indicates a distinct race, or only a dark variety, is uncertain.

In India and the Malay countries there is a large and a small variety, the former generally known as the Panther, and the latter as the Leopard. Both have the spots large , with a great tendency to form rosettes; and both must be regarded as constituting a single race, which is the typical representative of the species (F. pardus typica). To this race must likewise be referred the Asiatic Black Leopard, most frequently met with in elevated districts in Southern India and the Malay Peninsula. It is not a distinct race, but merely a black, or "melanistic" variety, the spots clearly showing in certain lights. Black leopards also occur rarely in North and East Africa.

Much more distinct is the Persian LEOPARD] Leopard (F. pardus tulliana), distinguished by its light colour, the large size of the spots, the length of the fur, and the great thickness of the tail. In all these respects this race forms a transition towards the Snow-Leopard. A fourth very distinct race is the Manchurian Leopard (F. pardus villosa) from Northern China, a mounted specimen of which is exhibited in the British Museum. This is a large, stoutlybuilt animal, characterised by the long light-coloured fur, the moderately thick tail, and the confluence of the spots to form large jet black rosettes, differing thick fur, the white ground-colour, the large size of the spots, which, with the exception of those on the head, are somewhat illdefined, and the great thickness and length of the tail, which scarcely tapers from root to tip, and is nearly three-quarters the total length of the head and body. Other distinctive features are afforded by the skull; the large yellowish spot on the otherwise black ears is also a characteristic mark of the species. The Snow-Leopard is an inhabitant of all the higher ranges of Central Asia, including the inner Himalaya, the Altai, and the Tian Shan. Its distribu- PM Valdwell SNOW-LEOPARD. from those of the Jaguar mainly by the absence of the black centre. The muzzle, too, is shorter than in the Indian Leopard, and the entire animal has a massive appearance, very similar to that of the Manchurian Tiger; northern races of widely spread species very generally exhibiting the same peculiarity. This race is mainly known by flattened trade-skins, which are imported in considerable numbers from China; its exact geographical limits are unknown, but it certainly inhabits Manchuria, and not improbably, further south, gradually passes into the ordinary Indian race, through the Séüstan leopard. Siamese leopards often exhibit small spots in the centre of the rosettes, like those of jaguars.

The Ounce, or Snow-Leopard (Felis uncia), although showing some resemblance to the Persian Leopard, is classed as a distinct species, characterised by the long tional area thus extends from Gilgit and Hunza through Baltistan, Zanskar, and Ladak to Turkestan, Tibet, Trans-Baikalia, Amurland, and North-Western China.

How far its southern limits extend is not precisely known; but it certainly occurs in the Pangi district of the upper Chinab valley. Whereas in the greater part of the Himalaya it does not descend below 9,000 ft. above the sea level, and ranges up to 16,000 and 20,000, in Gilgit it has been found in winter as low as 6,000 ft., and further north it doubtless occurs at still lower elevations.

The third specific representative of the leopard group is the Jaguar (F. onca); the Puma (F. concolor) being an apparently distinct type. Both are American; and since each has a separate article (q.v.), it will suffice to state that the former is distinguished from most Old World leopards by the presence of black spots in the middle of the rosettes, and that in the latter the spots have practically disappeared, although frequently visible in certain lights. The numerous kinds of Puma which have been named by American naturalists must be regarded merely as local races.

Another member of the group is the Clouded Leopard (F. nebulosa), distinguished by the long tail and the broad blackbordered markings on the fur of the body, and apparently allied to certain Central Asiatic cats, by which it is connected with the South American ocelot (F. pardalis).

It occurs at elevations up to 7,000 ft. in the south-eastern Himalaya and Assam, and extends thence to the hilly districts of Burma, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, Java, and Borneo. In Formosa it is represented by a shorter-tailed race (F. nebulosa brachyurus). The Hunting Leopard, or Chita (q.v.), has, of course, nothing to do with the true Leopard, but represents by itself the genus Cynælurus.

R. LYDEKKER.

LEOPARD, AFRICA (Felis pardus).- Nomenclature. The greatest possible confusion has long prevailed concerning the nomenclature of the various spotted cats the panther, leopard, cheetah, puma, and jaguar, having from time to time been mixed up in the minds of writers upon the subject.

In North America the uniformly coloured puma is often styled "panther," the term applied by Buffon to the jaguar of South America; in India "panther" is the name given to the large, and "leopard" to the smaller, variety of Felis pardus. 66 Sir J. E. Tennent tells us that in Ceylon the leopard is frequently called cheetahthe latter word, I believe, merely meaning spotted." I think it quite likely that the term "leopard "-lion-panther-was originally applied to the cheetah by the ancients, the panther-like tout ensemble, combined with the maned neck of the cheetah, being sufficient to account for this application of the term.

In South Africa the Boers and many colonists still call the cheetah "luipaard."

However, it is now generally admitted that there is but one true species of large spotted cats in Africa, viz., the leopard (the cheetah being of course placed in a different group). Notwithstanding the apparently wide difference in size, coloration, and habits between the large and small varieties, the frequent occurrence of forms intermediate between them establishes the identity of species. [LEOPARD The Hill or Kloof Leopard is common on the mountain ranges in all parts of Africa in which I have hunted, and amongst the kloofs and krantzes of the foot-hills, practically wherever it can obtain plenty of cover, water, and food.

It preys principally upon the small game which abound in such localities-bushbuck, bush-pig, duikers, and klipspringers, and at a pinch even the little hyrax affords it meal. Monkeys are occasionally caught, while, if there are any farms about on the terrace-lands, foals, donkeys, goats, sheep, and dogs are amongst the leopard's victims. a The The average total length of the male hill leopard is 6 ft. 5 in. or 6 ft. 6 in. (though this length I have often seen much exceeded), the tail being usually about 2 ft. IO in., shoulder height 2 ft. 5 in., girth of forearm, 12 to 131 in. His girth and muscular development are immense, the head somewhat long and narrow. average length of the leopardess is 6 ft. 2-3 in. The fur is long, the ground-colour usually a rich, dark orange buff, paling on flanks and inner portions of limbs; the chest and belly are pure white. Bases of ears black. The spots are dark brown or black, arranged in the form of open rosettes around a centre of ground-colour darker than elsewhere.

These open rosettes occur only on the back, sides, and upper portions of hind limbs, those on the chest, forearm, flanks, belly, and thighs being solid and of large size, while on the face, head, neck, and lower limbs the spots are very small. The most typical forms of this variety can be recognised at once by the manner in which the spots on the back run into one another, forming more or less broken stripes, long, broad, and dark, continued down the tail, the tip of which is always black; both the rosettes and solid spots all over the body are very close-set.

The Low Country Leopard is at first sight a very different beast, higher on the legs, longer in body, less muscular, and of gaunt appearance. He inhabits the dense cover of reeds, grass, or thorn-thickets along the banks of the principal streams. and is often found in low stony hills, covered with brush, adjacent to water.

He has far wider choice in the matter of food and less trouble to secure it, as in the Low Country game, both big and small. is plentiful.

This fact accounts for the marked difference in outward appearance between him and his congener; the latter attains great muscular development from the necessitv After E. Caldwell.

LEOPARD.

LEOPARD] of constantly climbing hills, krantzes, kloofs, and even trees in pursuit of its prey; the former, on the contrary, takes life more easily, usually seizing its prey when it comes to the water, and is altogether a lazier animal.

Average length 6 ft. IO in. to 7 ft., the tail occupying 2 ft. 6 in., shoulder height 2 ft. 7 in. or 8 in. Fur short, close and sleek; head short, round and heavy; limbs long, and less muscular than those of the hill leopard. Ground-colour pale fulvous, but subject to much variation. In the typical animal the spots, though of a similar nature to those of the hill leopard, never run into bars or lines, but are always widely set one from another. In the intermediate forms, however, found commonly amongst the lowest foot-hills and throughout all the Low Country, so variable are the markings and measurements that in most cases it is impossible to determine to which variety any particular one belongs. All are, in fact, but modifications of one widely distributed type.

Tracking. As an object of sport I consider the leopard has seldom had fair play. They are extremely difficult to find, but once this is accomplished, their pluck and savage nature will fully reward the sportsman. Good dogs, I consider, are almost an absolute necessity, especially in the hill country. The best for use in this country is a cross between the rough "Boer-dog" and a greyhound. He will be plucky, strong, with good staying power, a keen nose, and will have a turn of speed. Very large dogs are quite useless, for they cannot get through the under-wood and dense thorny thickets which abound in the kloofs, and into which leopards invariably retreat.

Dogs that show too eager a desire to run forward contrary to orders should be promptly checked, and, if disobedient. should either be led by a boy or drafted out of one's "leopard-pack." Such dogs are apt to come to close quarters with the leopard too soon and unsupported, and may either get killed or permit the leopard to escape before the sportsman can get up.

In the summer months, i.e., during the rainy season, December to April, leopards are difficult to find, whether in the hills or on the plains, owing to the length of the grass and denseness of the vegetation; but during the dry season, more especially when the grass is burnt off, it only requires patience and perseverance to bring them to bag. In the hill country, wherever leopards are of frequent occurrence, they will often be met with in the early mornings, and until the sun is an hour or more up, on the edges of kloofs and forest tracks, and on the long open grassy spurs so common to the broken country at the foot of a mountain range.

They delight in sunning themselves on the rocks, and playing about in the cool dewy grass under the genial rays of the early sun. n. In the Low Country, also, the banks of rivers and small watercourses in the early morning are the most likely places in which to look for them.

Watching at Kills. As a rule, however, leopards, like lions, are found by means of their "kills," a careful examination of which will soon tell the sportsman whether they are the work of a lion, leopard, hyæna, or cheetah. If the spoor can be made out, that will of course decide it at once¹; otherwise the carcase itself must be examined. With the exception of the hyæna, all these animals drag their prey some distance from the spot where it was killed-the hyæna only drags portions, when dismembered. The hyæna also eats meat, bones, skin, entrails, in fact everything indiscriminately; the other three disembowel their kill, and tear off large portions of skin with their teeth before eating. The cheetah disembowels in a rough, dirty fashion, frequently eating some of the entrails, never burying them; after devouring the viscera, he tackles the head, biting off the ears and nose, and lacerating the throat. The lion and leopard disembowel neatly, and bury the entrails; both then devour the viscera, but whereas the lion then sets to work upon the buttocks or inside of the hind legs, the leopard invariably tackles the breastbone, brisket, and soft ends of the rib-bones. The hill leopard very seldom returns to its kill if once actually disturbed thereat; otherwise, provided the kill has not been unduly tampered with, it may be expected to return on the following night. The Low Country leopard, on the contrary-possibly because it fears man less, not having so frequently come in contact with him-displays the utmost audacity in returning again to its kill, no matter how much it may have been interfered with. In Central Africa the hill leopards are equally bold and audacious; a good deal depends upon how much or how little reason they may have had to fear man.

In all cases, however, I advise the utmost caution and skill in dealing with these creatures, for they are beyond question the 1 Both hyæna and cheetah leave the imprints of their nails on the ground, the former deeply, the latter slightly. A full-grown male leopard's spoor is 4 in. in diameter, front feet-hind feet 34 in. in diameter. wariest brutes in the world. Supposing the leopard's kill has been found early in the morning, say any time before the dew is dry upon the grass; the sportsman then has two alternatives before him: he can either follow up the leopard at once with the help of his dogs, or he can set to work and construct a "scherm" (shelter of branches) from which to watch for the leopard at night on its return to the kill.

In the first event he should lose no time in getting his dogs together, and obtaining the assistance of two good native spoorers.

I consider the latter invaluable, even though a man may have had so many years' experience amongst wild game as to have become [LEOPARD they are sufficiently trained to keep close up or go "to heel" when ordered. The steadiest dog still keeps the spoor, and the sportsman must now be all eyes, examining critically every heap of rocks, every ravine crossed, every thorn-thicket, and the lower limbs of the larger trees. If the approach has been as it should be-silent and cautious, the leopard will jump up at close quarters, and the dogs must be instantly released. They will then quickly bring him to bay, or if he bolts, will follow him up and "tree him." It is well to provide each dog with a broad and somewhat tightlyfitting leather collar; it may save them from an ugly mauling.

AFRICAN LEOPARD. as proficient in this branch of forest-craft as nine out of ten natives themselves.

The sportsman is too heavily handicapped if forced to keep his eyes constantly on the spoor; he requires to be free to keep a sharp look-out for the game, and to use his rifle instantly. Four good dogs such as I have described are better than a whole pack of doubtful ones; if they know their work they will lose no time in getting on the spoor, and with their aid and that of the natives, good progress can be made.

If the dew is on the grass, so much the better; it will then be easier to spoor the game across the open stretches of long grass and scrub. near When by the excited action of the dogs it becomes evident the game is (usually, if his drinking place is found, it is safe to expect a leopard to lie up within a few hundred yards of it) three of them should be taken in hand and led, unless Should the sportsman decide to watch by night (by moonlight, of course, from choice) he must study the prevailing wind, and also note carefully the direction taken by the leopard when leaving its kill, as from that direction it will surely return. These points noted, he can erect his screen-a 2½ feet breast-work of interlaced branches is sufficient which should be about 20 to 25 feet distant from the kill; the latter must be handled as little as possible, and firmly lashed by the neck to a tree by means of a light chain or strong riem. It can, with advantage, be hung up about 5 feet from the ground, while another good plan, especially if the night is dark, and there seems but a poor chance of obtaining a shot, is to lash it to a log of wood about 8 feet in length and 4 inches in diameter. If the leopard seizes the kill, unseen by the watcher, he drags it away, log and all, but thereby leaves a spoor which can be LEOPARD] followed at earliest dawn, when the animal can often be shot at the carcase. Under any circumstances, there is great risk of the leopard winding one, for, as a rule, before approaching its kill, it makes a complete circuit round the spot, to test the wind. however, the watcher gets his chance he must keep cool, seize his first good oppoгtunity, and fire low. If, When the nature of the ground is such as to permit of the "scherm" being erected on higher ground than that where the kill lies, such as on the bank of a creek, top of an ant-heap or a pile of rocks, then the sportsman's chances of success are at least doubled. Watching from any height in a tree is almost useless; it is difficult to see an animal on the ground, and, besides, a leopard, unlike a lion, always examines the trees when approaching a kill, far more critically than he does objects on the ground.

A yet more certain plan, and in fact the only one to be adopted in case the leopard fails to revisit its kill on the first night, is to hang the latter well up in a tree, and then tether a goat on the spot, tying a piece of string to one ear, the other end of the string being led into the "scherm"; an occasional pull on this will cause the goat to bleat "to order "-a temptation few leopards can resist. On the leopard's approach, the goat tugs and strains at its tether, usually bleating loudly at first; then, standing stiffly at the end of the rope and staring hard in the direction from which the leopard is approaching, it becomes quite silent. The shot is best taken after the goat is seized, but sometimes a leopard gives a good chance when creeping in on its victim. On this account the ground should be cleared as much as possible round the bait; on no account should the latter be tethered less than 30 ft. distant from any heavy cover. Judgment and caution must be exercised from first to last; the branches for the "scherm" must be cut quite 100 yards from where the bait is to be placed, and in fact every endeavour must be made to retain the former natural appearance of the spot, even to artfully concealing the "scherm" by throwing branches loosely in front of it.

I have frequently used Brock's blue lights for shooting on dark nights, with fair measure of success, the plan adopted being to fasten one or more of the lights to a bush or tree, behind and above my right shoulder, pointing in the direction from which the game is expected. Thus placed, the light when struck shows up the rifle sights well, as also any object in front for a distance of 25 to 30 yards, so that if lit up when the leopard is eating at the carcase, there is ample time, if one is quick, to put a bullet in the brute's chest as he springs to his feet and stares at the unwonted glare.

Of course, they do not always stand thus, frequently bolting precipitately, but one must take the chance of it.

Following a wounded leopard is most risky work; he will hide anywhere, for scarcely any cover is so small and insignificant but he will make himself invisible in it. Leopards seldom give any warning of their proximity in such a case, as does a lion, but will fly out at dogs or man with implacable fury and lightning speed; one must be smart with the rifle then or stand by for a mauling.

A smooth bore, loaded with AAA shot, should stop any leopard in its charge at close quarters, but I consider the use of such a weapon quite unsportsmanlike. A wounded leopard, unless closely pursued by dogs, never takes to a tree, but if not too badly hit will travel a great distance before lying up. One should get quickly on the spoor, and even then, without dogs, there will be many checks, as the loosely set skin frequently covers up the bullet hole and prevents external bleeding.

The same general rules apply to hunting the Low Country leopard, but the latter are usually more difficult to spoor from a kill, not only because if found in fly country one seldom has any dogs in camp, but also owing to the nature of the ground traversed.

A leopard scarcely leaves any trace of his passage either through long grass, reeds, or over the short stiff "wire-grass" and strong rubble of many of the Low Country ridges; whereas spoor is fairly easy to follow over the damp, soft soil of the kloofs.

The Low Country leopard, however, seldom travels far from its kill, especially if water is handy; and a systematic search through all the most likely and unlikely cover within a radius of 300 yards from the kill usually proves successful; in fact, it is not at all an unusual thing to find this animal lying at his kill throughout the day.

Rifle and Ammunition. Any light, accurately sighted double rifle with a slightly hollowed conical lead projectile of not less than 360 grains will account for a leopard.

I have on most occasions used a Gibb's Metford. It is a perfect weapon for leopard shooting; but in kloofs and dense bush I often use a double 12 rifle, a wound from which leaves a good blood spoor.

Owing to the weight of its projectile the shock to the animal is great, and prevents its going any great distance after being hit.

The 303 rifle should be a deadly weapon for leopards, if a reliable expanding bullet is used.

Aim should always be taken for the shoulder, if the animal is broadside on, and for the centre of the chest or the junction of neck and shoulder if facing or quarter face on.

Although I invariably use ivory bead foresights, I do not consider them "quite the thing" for bush shooting. A small enamel bead-sight, which if necessary can be made to slip over the ordinary sight, is more opaque and therefore gives better results; for moonlight nights these enamel sights are excellent.

For work in dense and thorny bush, no material will be found to answer so well or to wear so long as gabardine, which is practically thorn proof. A close-fitting cloth cap is the best headgear; a broadbrimmed felt hat or a helmet is knocked off too easily by the twigs.

FRED. V. KIRBY.

IN SOMALILAND. - Leopards and panthers are so cunning, so stealthy in their habits, so easily concealed, and they live in such broken and intricate ground, that they can seldom be systematically hunted like other kinds of large game. Moreover, they live chiefly in stony hills, where tracking their light footsteps is next to impossible. Leopards are seen now and then by daylight when the sportsman is in pursuit of other game, but they generally disappear before a shot can be fired. They turn up at the most unexpected times and places, but are most often heard of in the hunting countries of North-east Africa, in the neighbourhood of the grazing grounds of the flocks of the nomads, when the kraals are pitched at the foot of the rugged hills or on the edge of broken country intersected by ravines. In the afternoons, and about an hour before sunset, as the flocks are being driven homewards, the leopards sneak out from their rocky hiding places to strike down any lagging sheep or goat.

There are exceptions, however, and a kill may occur at any time when the flocks are about, and attacks by night are bold and frequent, the victims being dragged out through the thorn fences of the kraals.

If darkness is setting in when the kill occurs, by the time the news gets to the sportsman's camp it is too late to do anything. But if a kill takes place early in the afternoon, a not uncommon occurrence, there is time to erect a small screen of brushwood down wind and within a few yards of the carcase, behind which the [LEOPARD sportsman can hide. The leopard will almost surely return to such a kill at sunset, and can be easily shot. In a case of this kind it is important not to touch the carcase or even approach it too closely, as the human taint hanging about would be quite enough to excite suspicion of a trap. The attacks of leopards are very varied in character. On one occasion the writer, when following a wounded antelope, found that a leopard had taken up the chase, leaving its tracks over those of the antelope; and when a little later the antelope was discovered lying dead, a leopard, which had been drinking its blood, bounded away.

This occurring at about 4 p.m., the writer sat in the shade of a bush thirty yards from the carcase for an hour, at the end of which SOMALI LEOPARD. time the leopard returned boldly to the kill and was shot.

On occasions leopards were shot by watching over a goat tied up as a living bait at night. A screen was erected, if possible down wind, and a little above the bait, the latter being tied to a heavy log of wood: it is a mistake to tie it to a stake fixed in the ground, as unless the leopard can drag his kill a little way he will suspect a trap and bound off. The best time to shoot is when the leopard is lying on the victim drinking its blood, or is dragging it slowly along.

A half-grown kid, which will bleat loudly, is the best.

The writer found it a good plan to take post just as the men were finishing work on the screen. They had instructions when going away to make plenty of noise, talking loudly, so as to give the impression that no one remained behind. On one occasion when this ruse was practised, the men having only just walked away, and while they were still only two hundred yards distant, the leopard walked boldly up, and was shot by the writer, who had remained in ambush.

On another occasion he sat behind a LEOPARD screen of brushwood, watching a pool of water before sunset, at a time when most of the other streams and pools in the neighbourhood were dry. The leopard came to drink while it was still twilight, and was shot, stumbling away to die in a ravine close by, where he was found half an hour later by the aid of a lantern.

Leopards are very bold and enterprising when they have made up their minds to attack, and it is well known that in civilised neighbourhoods they will enter houses; and many a time has the writer's camp been attacked and a goat killed within the thorn fence, in spite of the presence of an armed sentry. On one occasion the brute was seen to creep under the outer fly of a "Cabul" tent within a few yards of where the writer was standing, and, springing over a circle of sleeping men, seize a goat which had been tethered close to the camp fire. An approach was made on another night along the branch of a tree overhanging camp, followed by a perpendicular drop on the goat, which, however, it had no time to kill before it was driven away.

The leopard will charge against any odds when wounded. Once when following one by the light of a faint moon, accompanied by a dozen natives armed with rifles, the writer was charged by a leopard, which sprang on the next man to him. The man held down his assailant by the throat till it could be shot. This animal had first attracted attention two evenings before by prowling round camp, emitting at intervals the peculiar rasping growl, something like the sound of sawing of wood, which is so often heard echoing through the hills, even in the day-time, where leopards are common. It can be heard at a great distance. In this case a goat was tied up on the first night, but, on springing, the leopard caught sight of the ambushed sportsman, promptly let go the hold on the goat's neck, and bounded away. The same tactics were resorted to on the second night, but the writer, forewarned, fired a snapshot at the beast while in its spring by which it was disembowelled. It crawled, however, into a bushy hill and died fighting, as above described. Moonlight tracking is not recommended where dangerous game is concerned; the lights and shadows are uncertain, and accurate aim is difficult; in the case related it was only resorted to in order to prevent the valuable skin from being spoilt by hyænas.

Examples are numerous in the experience of most sportsmen of leopards turning up at unexpected times and places. The writer once came upon one lying on its side asleep at three on a hot afternoon in full view, on the open level sand of a river-bed, where a recent freshet had left the surface damp, and a high overhanging bank cast a cool shadow. Sometimes they were sighted for a moment in forest country, to bound away without giving a shot, and once a leopard was found asleep in the shade cast by the body of a dead elephant, just as a party with axes arrived to cut out the ivory.

On another occasion a shot at one of a herd of gazelles was spoilt by the charge of three leopards, which scattered them. Once when the sportsman's caravan was on the march, the man driving the milch-goats happening to lag behind, the head of a leopard, which had evidently been following, was seen over a bush, but its owner, on finding itself observed, sprang away.

When a leopard or panther has carried off a goat and can be traced to one of the boulder-strewn hills in which they live, there are two ways of bringing it to bag.

One plan is to follow the tracks, if possible, or the trail where the carcase has been dragged along, till the leopard's cave is discovered. Very likely the remains of the meat will be found at the cave mouth.

Then choose a convenient spot not far away at the foot of the hill, erect a zeriba or utilise a bush as a screen, and watch over a live goat for half an hour before sunset.

It is not worth while waiting long after sunset, as by that time any leopard about will probably have gone further afield to prowl round the kraals.

Another way is for the sportsman, having found the cave, to post himself early in the afternoon on a pinnacle of rock above it and watch on the chance of catching a glimpse of the animal when he comes out for his afternoon ramble; after the sleep he will probably have taken during the heat of the day. Several men may be posted on the tops of the largest boulders in spots commanding the whole of the broken ground, so that if he is on the move he will probably be seen; and when seen his progress can be followed by signals passed along by the men; then with judgment and good wind on the part of the sportsman a shot may be obtained. It involves a good good deal of jumping from rock to rock where a fall would be disastrous, and rubber tennis shoes are the best in dry weather.

Somalis sometimes kill leopards, as well as hyænas, at the wells, by leaving poison in the rough clay troughs which still contain a little muddy liquid after the flocks have been watered. Wild animals, being unable to climb down to drink from the deeper wells, seem often to depend on these troughs, which are situated at the surface of the ground.

The range of the leopard, in North-east Africa at any rate, is not confined to any locality; it is most common in Somaliland, in the Golis Mountains, and their continuations east and west. It is rather rare on the flat stoneless interior plateau, and possibly altogether absent on the open treeless grass prairies. It is universally common where broken ground, intersected by ravines, is combined with the presence of goat and sheep kraals. It is seldom seen in the maritime plain, though common in the interior plains behind the low maritime ranges. It is, as before pointed out, so unexpectedly found that the only methods of hunting it, promising substantial probability of success, are by watching over water, over a kill, or over a living bait.

When driven by a line of beaters, leopards often escape observation by crouching or taking to the branches of a tree till they have passed; and it must be remembered that a platform in a tree is little protection against such a good climber, and in India many a sportsman has been pulled out of a tree.

When it offers a good chance, a leopard, being a small and thin-skinned animal, can be killed with comparative ease, and a double 450 express rifle should be a good weapon, but some writers recommend a double a 12 bore gun, with S.S.G. shot, for use at close quarters. Being savage, vindictive, and fearless above almost any other game animal, they require straight and quick shooting. There are many occasions on record where a good knife, or a double 577 pistol, would have been useful carried in the belt, for in a charge the rifle may be knocked out of the sportsman's hand, and a leopard is not too powerful an animal to be met in this way as a last resort.

The Somalis call all leopards "shabel," but they affect to believe in the existence of a large kind, rare and inhabiting the highest hills, possessing supernatural powers, and the ability to change itself into a human being at will. This animal, if we strip it from exaggeration and superstition, is probably the larger heavily built leopard, which would be called a panther in India.

These fine hill specimens sometimes take to man-eating, and when they do they are most destructive, one upon the Golis range in Somaliland having been credited, by native report, with a hundred human victims. The small Somali race is mentioned in Mr. Lydekker's article. H. G. C. SWAYNE. a [LEOPARD IN INDIA. In India the names panther, leopard, and chita are indifferently applied to the present species. The proper Hindustani name is "tendwa," but it is frequently called chita by the natives, though this latter name is more appropriately applied to the hunting leopard (Cyncælurus jubatus), a totally different animal. There can be no doubt that there exist two phases of the leopard in India, one larger than the other; the term "panther" being applied to the larger, and "leopard" to the smaller form.

The so-called leopard rarely exceeds 6 feet in length from the nose to tip of the tail, while the panther measures from 6 feet to nearly 8 feet, more usually a few inches under or over 7 feet, but there is, of course, a complete transition from one type to the other; certain other alleged points of difference being of no value. The leopard is found throughout India wherever there is jungle of any extent, but is partial to rocky hills; its favourite haunts being in the cavities among the rocks, where it lies up during the day, issuing forth at evening in search of food. At night time it does not seem to mind the vicinity of man, and prowls close round the villages in search of any stray dog or goat. Leopards feed on cattle, goats, dogs, deer, pigs, monkeys, hares, peacocks, and any smaller bird or animal that they can get hold of. They are very fond of dogs, and many a good dog has been carried off by them. When sportsmen are lying out for tigers, leopards frequently take the bait intended for the larger animal. Many instances have occurred of panthers carrying the animals they have killed into a tree and concealing them in the branches. They occasionally go up into trees to sit during the day, but this is exceptional, as they usually prefer to remain on the ground. In one well authenticated instance a panther was seen ascending a tree in the course of a beat to look about him; and it is well known that they have, when wounded, gone up the tree and pulled down their assailant sitting in it. Sometimes in a beat it is believed that panthers ascend a tree and remain hidden there until the beat has passed. They have also been observed treed by wild dogs. When wounded and followed on foot, they are, if their wound disinclines them to travel, almost certain to charge; they are very courageous in these circumstances, and will go at one man after another with astonishing rapidity.

The panther has a wonderful knack of concealing himself. The smallest depression of the ground and the shortest of grass LEOPARD] suffice to render him invisible. Conspicuous as he is when walking, the moment he has crouched in the yellow grass and flickering shade it is impossible to see him before he makes his charge. Of course, if he does not intend to charge, as he moves to go THE TATE LIBRARY, BRIXTON, S.W. are seen, and about sunset, or shortly after, the robber may come. Another method is to sit over the carcase of a kill, and wait for the panther's return. Panthers may likewise be occasionally seen and shot when out stalking, but it is not possible to track INDIAN LEOPARD OR PANTHER. away you can shoot him easily enough. The wounds inflicted by the panther, though not so deep as those made by the larger Felida, are frequently fatal, blood-poisoning being a common sequel.

The usual mode of shooting is by driving them towards the gun by a number of beaters, but it is often impossible to induce the panther to leave his hole in the rocks, where he sits listening to the din. If there are no rocks, he is lying under a bush or in the grass in the shade of a tree; nevertheless, he sometimes manages in some wonderful way to slip away unseen, or, what is not unlikely, sits close and lets the beat pass him by. Another way is to tie up a goat near the rocks where the panther is supposed to be. The goat bleats for his comrades, and the panther is attracted and comes out. From 3 p.m. to sunset is the best time. Or a goat can be tied just outside a village, where the tracks of a panther VOL. III them up. It is mere chance, walking them up, and rarely occurs. They bring forth their young usually in April and May, and as a rule produce two cubs, which accompany the mother until nearly full grown. Man-eating is not SO common among leopards as among tigers, but when they take to the habit they become a terrible scourge, entering the villages at night and seizing man, woman, or child as they lie asleep.

One male panther, in the writer's own experience, in the Hyderabad districts, killed in less than a fortnight two women, two men, and one boy, and had killed several others before. In every case the victim was seized by the throat when asleep. This panther's career ended in a trap: he was of the large variety, and in full vigour. It also transpired that he was accompanied by a female, whose tracks, however, had not on any previous occasion been observed.

On the night of his capture, the female seized a man at the same village, who succumbed afterwards to his wounds, though they were of a trifling character. In the twelve months afterwards she only killed two persons, so there can be no doubt that the male was the chief offender. There are two ways of trapping panthers; one by a box-like cage with a falling door, in one end of which a goat is placed for bait, and in this the panther is taken alive. In the other mode, a heavy triangular framework of wood, loaded with stones, is supported by an arrangement something like a "figureof-four" trap. The ground beneath is excavated a few inches to the shape of the triangular frame, which fits into the excavation when it falls. In the centre a small hole is dug, in which a kid is placed with its legs tied; this is covered with a dry palm leaf; a string attached to the trigger which lets the erection fall is fastened inside the hole, and when the panther comes, he scrapes with his paw at the palm-leaf, so [LEOPARD The track of the adult male is rounder than that of the female, the impression left by the foot of the latter being oval in shape.

Black panthers are rare in India. G. P.

Sanderson mentions that a black female in the Zoological Society's Garden at Amsterdam had two cubs, one black and one of the ordinary colour, but nothing was known of the male parent. The converse case of an ordinary female with one black cub among others of ordinary hue has been seen, it is believed, in India, though chapter and verse for this statement cannot be given.

J. D. INVERARITY.

LEOPARD SPEARING. Spearing leopards is a sport to which some Indian rajas are extremely partial. The leopard is caught in the forest in a cage-like structure made of natural boughs, with inner compartment baited with a live goat; and, being transferred to a smaller cage, is taken without delay, so that it may lose an THE RETURN TO CAMP. as to get at the kid, and pulls the string, when the whole weight of the frame and stones descends and crushes him to the ground. If not killed by the fall, he is easily despatched, as he cannot move. The man-eater referred to was caught in a trap of this description placed in a shed in the middle of the village, and close to a hut from which he had taken a girl a week previously. none of its courage or activity, to an open plain, where it is loosed with ample law, in the presence of sportsmen mounted, armed with boar-spears. If it makes for the forest, it affords a spirited chase before it is speared; and if it crouches, awaiting the attack, it ordinarily makes good its spring on the first assailant, so that it is not speared without some danger to horse and man.

LICENCES LICENCES. - Dog Licences. An annual licence, formerly costing 5s. (30 & 31 Vict. c. 5), but now costing 7s. 6d. (41 Vict. c. 15), is required to be taken out for every dog more than six months old (except sheep dogs, used exclusively for sheep, blind men's dogs, and hounds otherwise paid for), under a penalty of £5 and costs for each dog so kept. The penalty for not producing a licence within a reasonable time after request by Excise officer or police constable is £5 (Dog Licence Act, 1867, sect. 9).

The penalty for using a dog without a licence to kill or take game is £20, under 23 & 24 Vic. c. 90 sec. 4, entitled "An Act to repeal the duties on Game Certificates and Certificates to kill game, and to impose in lieu thereof Duties on Excise Licences and Certificates for the like purpose."

Game Licences. After repeated discussions in Parliament, the necessity of any qualification for killing game was by I & 2 Will. IV. c. 32 abolished, and the right was made to depend merely on the payment of an annual tax called a "game certificate," 1 still so called in Ireland, but now termed in England a "licence to kill game."

This licence is required to be taken out by every person using a dog, gun, net, or "other engine," for taking or killing game" (elsewhere defined), or any woodcocks, snipes, quail, landrail, rabbits, or “ deer. 'No licence, however, is required for netting or snaring woodcocks and snipes; for killing rabbits in a warren; for coursing or hunting hares, or for hunting deer; and the following persons are also exempted from taking out a game licence, viz., members of the Royal Family; His Majesty's game-keepers; persons assisting without guns in the killing of game by licensed persons; and owners or occupiers of enclosed land killing hares on their own enclosed land. Under the Ground Game Act, 1880 (43 & 44 Vic. c. 47) the occupier and persons authorised by him to kill ground game are not for that purpose required to take out a licence to kill game, but it is expressly enacted (sec. 4) that they must hold a Ios. gun licence, under the provisions of the Gun Licence Act, 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 57).

The duties to be paid for game licences vary according to the period for which the licence is required. For the whole season the duty is £3; until October 31st £2; and after November Ist to end of season 1 Certificates were first required to be taken out by persons qualified to kill game by statute 25 Geo. III. c. 50. ،، (February 2nd) £2; while a licence for fourteen consecutive days (inclusive of Sundays) at any time during the season may be obtained on payment of £1.

The cost of a game-keeper's licence is only £2 for the whole season. Subject to the exemptions above mentioned, the penalty for searching for, or killing game" without a licence, is a fine not exceeding £5 (under I & 2 Will. IV. c. 32), and for killing "game," woodcock, snipe, quail, landrail, rabbit, or deer without a licence £20 (under the Licensing Act 23 & 24 Vict. c. 90), while any person discovered in pursuit of "game," &c., and refusing to give his name and address, or to produce his licence to persons authorised to require its production, or producing a fictitious or expired licence, or giving a fictitious name, is also liable to a penalty of £20.

Licences to deal in Game. Formerly under the provisions of the principal Game Act (sect. 18), licences to deal in game were granted by Justices of the Peace at special sessions held for the purpose; but by the Local Government Act, 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73), such licensing was transferred to the District Councils (sect. 27), to whom all duties are now payable, and this applies to a county borough as if it were an urban district, and as if the county borough were a District Council (sect. 32).

A District Council licence must be produced to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue before an Excise licence to deal in game will be issued (Game Licence Act, 1860, sect. 15). A gamedealer can buy game only from a person holding an annual licence (£3) to kill or take game, and the latter can only sell to a licensed gamedealer; for the Game Licence Act, 1860 (sect. 13) expressly provides that no person may sell game to a licensed dealer except the holder of a £3 game licence, and this applies to game alive or dead, wild or tame.

The granting of a licence to deal in game to any carrier or higgler, or to any innkeeper, is prohibited by sect. 18 of the principal Game Act, but an innkeeper may sell game to visitors for consumption on his own premises.

Every licensed dealer in game is obliged (under sect. 18) to put up a notice board in front of his house, shop, or stall showing his Christian name and surname, followed by the words "Licensed to deal in game."

Gun Licences. - Until August, 1870, no duty was payable by any person using a gun for any other purpose than killing game.

In that month, however, the "Gun Licence Act," 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 57) L 2 came into operation, and by its provisions no one (except those exempted from duty as above mentioned) may use or carry a gun without a licence costing Ios., under a penalty of £10. This licence, however, is not required to be applied for by persons who have already taken out a game licence, so long as that game licence remains in force; nor does the "Gun Licence Act" apply to persons in the army, navy, volunteers, or constabulary using their firearms in the performance of their duty, or to persons carrying a gun to scare birds from the crops, or to kill vermin, or carrying a gun for the holder of a game licence or gun licence. وو The term "gun includes a firearm of any description, and an air gun, or any other kind of gun, from which any shot, bullet, or other missile can be discharged (sect. 2). Under this section it has been held that a toy pistol is a gun within the meaning of the Act (Campbell v. Hadley, 40 J. P. 756), but not a catapult.

Proceedings under this Act cannot be instituted by private individuals, but only by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, inasmuch as the Act was passed for the purpose of raising imperial revenue. J. E. HARTING. [See also GAME LAWS.] LIFE-SAVING. - [See SWIMMING.] LION-SOUTH AFRICA (Felis leo). -Although I believe that it is now the opinion of most modern naturalists that there is no specific difference between the African lion and his Asiatic relative, and that therefore there is but one species of this animal in the world, whether it be found in North-Western India or in Persia, or in any district of the vast African continent; and although I myself consider the opposite view, that several species of lions exist, to be quite untenable; yet I think it possible that these animals may vary to some extent in character even in different districts of the same continent. I will therefore preface what I am about to write concerning them by saying that my observations have been made solely in Southern and South-Eastern Africa, and my notes, therefore, will be descriptive of the lion as I have found him in those districts.

When the Dutch first landed at the Cape of Good Hope, lions must have been very numerous in the Cape Peninsula, as the following entry occurs in the diary of the first Governor of the country: "This night the lions roared as if they would take the fort by storm," the said fort standing on [LION the site of what is now Cape Town. Long after this date, in the early years of the nineteenth century, lions were still plentiful in many parts of the Cape Colony. But as the abounding game on which they lived was killed off, and the country settled by the ever advancing European colonists, there was no food left for the great carnivora but the flocks and herds of the human intruders. On these the lions feasted freely, and sometimes they were able to kill and eat one of the disturbers of their peace; but teeth and claws, though good weapons in their way, are no match for firearms, and so the lions were gradually destroyed, and now one must travel many a hundred miles inland from Cape Town in order to meet with one of these grand brutes in his wild state.

Where the carcase is, there will be the vultures, and at the present day in Africa where there is game, there too will lions be found; few and far between where the beasts on which they prey are scarce and scattered, but numerous in districts where wild animals still abound. How numerous both game and lions once were in South Africa may be judged when I mention that the Rev. Robert Moffat has left it on record that he once saw in one day, when travelling on the eastern border of what is now British Bechuanaland, nine different troops families of the latter. or It is undoubtedly more usual to come across several lions together than one by itself; and I think I may say that in undisturbed parts of the country, where game is abundant, it is quite the exception to find a lion or a lioness alone. Two or three male lions often hunt together, though family parties are, I think, more frequently met with. The grown-up members of such parties may consist of one old male and from one to four females; but should two or more of these females have cubs of different ages at the same time, the family party may become a veritable troop of lions, amongst which at a little distance the more mature of the rising generation will be scarcely distinguishable from their mothers, whom they do not leave until they are old enough to hunt for themselves. From my own experience I should say that it is very unusual to find more than one mature male amongst a family party of lions, though such a master of the harem may tolerate the company of one or two of his sons until they become old enough to aspire to the affections of one of his wives. Then there is probably a row, and the young lion quits his father's household and goes out into the world, either alone or accompanied by LION] one or more of the ladies who have caused the trouble. At times, however, undoubtedly two or even three male lions, each with his own females, fraternise and hunt together; but the passions of love and jealousy must always, I fancy, cause such alliances to be of a very temporary character.

Man-eaters. When through old age the powers of a lion begin to fail, he meets with no consideration at the hands of his a herd of buffaloes approach his lair, and he has neither the agility nor the strength to pull down any of the antelopes that he can see feeding in the plain near him. His only chance is to lie hidden close to some pool of water, in the hope of being able to pounce on a young wild hog. Failing that he must try to kill a porcupine, and fill his mouth and feet with its sharp quills before he can obtain a meal, or else endeavour to find a tortoise and gnaw through its hard AFRICAN LIONS HUNTING. fellows, by whom he is driven away to lead a solitary life of hardship only to be terminated by death from starvation, or, worse still, by the cruel fangs of the very hyænas to whose carrion-eating tribe he had been as a king in the days of his prime. Does the old lion, I wonder, lying gaunt and mangy, tired and hungry, with shrunken muscles, broken teeth, and worn-out claws, ever remember in his solitude the halcyon times of his earlier career? If so, bitter indeed must be his thoughts. In the days of his strength, not so many years ago, he could seize a buffalo by the nose and break its neck with one swift powerful jerk, or drop a zebra in its tracks with a bite behind the ears. Now he must slink away should Valdwell 1910 [From a drawing by E. Caldwell. shell for the sake of the mouthful of meat within. But day by day he must become weaker, and at last creep into some hiding place and die of starvation, or support the last humiliation of having his poor wasted limbs torn to pieces by wild dogs or hyænas. An old lioness suffers the same hard fate, her sex not protecting her from the neglect or even active hostility of her fellows in her extreme old age.

In some parts of Southern Africa, where there is still a fair quantity of game, and where, therefore, there are lions about, there are also natives living in small communities, whose otherwise monotonous existence is sometimes relieved by the presence of one of these latter animals that has ) become so old and comparatively weak as to be unable to kill game. Such an old lion or lioness, having failed for days perhaps to procure food for itself, may at last in its hunger and despair resolve to visit the habitations of the evil-smelling, twolegged creatures of whom it has always hitherto had a strange and unaccountable dread. Let us suppose that an old lioness FOSTER'S LION. in the last stage of emaciation has reached a small enclosure in Northern Mashonaland in which there are some half dozen native huts. It is night, and the famished brute lies watching the light of the fires and listening to the murmur of the human voices and the bleating of the goats. But she is very old and very weak, and lacks the strength and the courage to try to force an entrance into the enclosure, and endeavour to carry off a man or a goat; and so, when day breaks, she is still lying watching.

Presently the poles forming the gate of the enclosure are taken down, and a small troop of goats is driven out, and the hungry, desperate, watching beast notes that the creature who drives them is very smalla little boy, in fact, of but seven or eight years of age. All that day the goats and their shepherd are followed and watched by a cruel pair of hungry-looking yellow eyes, but not till they are returning home in the dusk of the evening does the watcher at last make up her mind to act. With stealthy step she creeps up behind the little [LION boy as he whistles gaily to his home-returning flock, and is almost upon him before her whereabouts is discovered. The despairing shriek of the child and the low purring growl of the savage beast as she springs upon him are simultaneous.

That evening the goats come up to the kraal alone somewhat later than usual, for when their little shepherd was seized by the lioness they had loitered to browse; and would not have come home at all had not the nannies, whose kids had been kept behind when they went out to feed in the morning, led the way. Search is made for the missing shepherd, but it has grown too dark to note any trace of the brief struggle on the path, and the body has been dragged away into the bush. The next day, however, guessing what has happened, all the men in the village turn out with guns and assegais, and the lioness is soon found lying growling by all that remains of the boy that is not inside her. She is killed there and then without difficulty, and her mangy carcase is burnt on a great fire; and so ends this little tragedy of wild life.

The foregoing is no fancy picture, but the tale of what once happened close to my camp, as well as it could be elucidated by the tracks on the ground, which showed that the lioness had been round the kraal the night before she killed the boy, and had been near the goats as they were feeding during the daytime. This lioness was not very formidable, as she was extremely old. I once came on one even weaker still from hunger and old age. This animal had been hanging round a Batonga kraal on the Zambesi, the inhabitants of which had no guns, and she had killed a goat or two before my arrival.

I came on her early one morning, not far from the native village, as she was lying in wait. On seeing me approach, she left the patch of reeds in which she had been hiding, and walked across the path I was following, on her way to a wooded ridge; but so weak was she that twice in the space of one hundred yards her hind quarters gave way, and she swung over into a sitting position, and when I had shot her I found that she was nothing more than a few fleshless bones with a skin stretched over them. Her teeth were worn down to stumps, and her claws all cracked and broken. a It often happens, however, that an old lion takes to preying on human beings long before he has become actually decrepit, and such an animal may prove a very dangerous neighbour to a native kraal.

Having gone hungry for several days through failing to kill game, he comes to LION] a native village ripe for mischief, and perhaps has the luck to kill a nice plump native woman working in her maize field or going to fetch water, the very first day. He is astonished at the ease with which his first human victim was killed, and has also probably found the flesh really tasty; and he very naturally says, "No more running after strong wary brutes with sharp horns for me," and from that time till the day of his death he becomes a man-eater. His career may be cut short very soon, and in a district in which there is a considerable native population it is pretty certain to be so, as African natives usually combine to kill a man-eating lion; but I have known some of these dangerous brutes to become very cunning, and to do a great deal of mischief before they were destroyed. have, too, seen several small abandoned villages in Northern Mashonaland, which I was assured had been deserted by their inhabitants because of the depredations of man-eating lions.

I I have known cases where native men were seized and killed by lions in broad daylight; but such cases are, I think, very rare, man-eaters doing their work as a rule at night or in the dusk of the evening; and I think it may be taken as a general rule that in the daytime, or even on a bright moonlight night, lions will give way before the presence of man. I have on many occasions come upon lions feeding on the carcase of an animal they had only just killed, and at a time when they might reasonably be supposed to have been hungry; yet they invariably relinquished their prey and retreated. Exceptional cases to the contrary have doubtless occurred, but they are so few as to prove the rule.

Lions, however, have different ways of retreating before human beings, and my experience on this point is as follows:-In a country where much shooting has been done, and in which lions have been much disturbed, they will be found to have developed a great fear of man, and will not only retreat before him, but run off directly they become aware of his presence at such a pace that if he is on foot he will never get a shot at them. In districts, however, where they have never been interfered with, and where, in fact, they have grown to consider themselves the lords of creation, as the natives from time to time encountered kept out of their way, they behave very differently. Should you come on a family of lions in such a district, they will all stand and look at you with lowered heads, and one or two will perhaps growl and twitch their tails; but the rest will probably walk slowly away, to be followed soon by their more sullen companions, who, however, will keep on halting and looking threateningly back at you; but they will keep on retreating, and finally disappear in the grass or reeds or bushes.

By day, therefore, if he is not interfered with, a lion cannot be called either bold or savage. By night, however, and especially on a dark rainy night, it is a different matter, and a hungry lion will at such a time often show himself to be a most daring and resolute animal. In my own experience I have known a lion enter a strongly fenced camp three times in one night LION IN CAPTIVITY, SHOWING THE HEAVY MANE. through the narrow opening left as a doorway, on each occasion carrying off the skin of a sable antelope. The first time he came in, the fire in the middle of the camp had burnt rather low; but it was then made up, and was blazing brightly when he passed within a few yards of it, on his second and third raids. I have also known horses to be seized that were tied to the wheel of a waggon outspanned for the night, and oxen attacked and killed whilst tied up to the yokes. Such incidents, indeed, are, or perhaps I ought to say were, of constant occurrence in the history of travel in the interior of South Africa; but the country is fast becoming denuded of game along the main roads, and the lions have moved back with the game, or else have been shot by the owners of the cattle they had killed.

Though man is not the natural food of the lion, and though the latter would doubtless prefer the meat of a buffalo, zebra, horse, or donkey, yet I do not think he would ever hesitate to kill and eat a human being, if he happened to meet one on a dark night, and was really hungry. Therefore I consider it more or less risky to walk along a road on a moonless night in any part of South Africa where there are lions about. One might do so twenty times without meeting a lion, and one might meet and pass several lions before coming across a really hungry one. But when at last that hungry animal was encountered, nothing could save one, as the lion would spring upon his unhappy victim from behind, and crush in his skull at one bite with such lightning-like rapidity that all resistance or evasion would be out of the question.

During the construction of the Beira Railway, in South-East Africa, lions were very troublesome, and often carried off men from the native working parties at nights.

Indeed, Mr. A. L. Lawley, under whose superintendence the line was constructed, informed me that although he could not give me the exact number of men he had lost in this way, he believed it to be between thirty and thirty-five.

Methods of Killing and Devouring their Prey.-Lions have no invariable method of killing their prey, but act in accordance with circumstances and the nature of the animal attacked. However, they appear to know that wounds inflicted on the head, throat, and back of the neck are the most speedily fatal to life, as these are the spots selected for their death-dealing bites.

It is my experience that in South Africa lions do not strike their victims a crushing blow with their paws, but use their claws primarily to hold their prey whilst they kill it with their teeth, although, of course, terrible claw gashes are often inflicted on any soft-skinned animal they may seize.

Zebras, horses, and donkeys are usually killed by bites behind the ears or under the throat; whilst an ox, buffalo, or horned antelope is seized by the nose with one paw, and the claws of the other are driven deep into its withers. At the same time its head is jerked in under it, and its neck either at once dislocated by the enormous strength of the lion, or else the weight of the latter causes it to stumble and fall with its head pulled under it in such a way that it breaks its own neck.

I do not say that this method of killing horned game is invariable with lions, but I have known a large ox to be killed very neatly by a single lion in this manner, and I have found the claw marks on the muzzles of many other oxen, as well as buffaloes and horned antelopes that had been killed by these animals, and therefore imagine that they were killed in the same way. A single lion kills his game neatly and quickly, whilst I have known a party of lions to maul an ox in a disgraceful manner before they killed it. I imagine that this was because the younger members of the party were still learning their trade, [LION and in their eagerness and inexperience bit wherever they could lay hold.

When once a lion or lions have killed an animal, they open the carcase at the point where the skin is thinnest that is, just in front of where the thigh joins the belly, at once eating this thin skin and the thin layer of flesh attached to it. Then they drag out the entrails and paunch through the opening thus made. This operation is performed with extraordinary neatness and cleanliness, the contents of the paunch and entrails never being spilt over the meat, as they always are when a Kaffir has the cutting up of a beast to do. The offal which has thus been removed from the carcase is dragged away to a little distance, and covered with earth and grass, which is scratched up over it, often so profusely that it is quite hidden from sight. Then the feast commences. First the liver, kidneys, heart, and lungs are eaten; then the carcase is again torn open at the anus and the soft meat of the buttocks eaten. The meat is torn off and eaten in great lumps with the skin attached. The lion is not a bone eater, but likes soft juicy meat, although, if an animal that he has killed is in good condition, he will eat all the fatty bones as well as the meat and fat of the brisket, and also gnaw off the ends of all the ribs, but no attempt is ever made to crunch any of the larger bones.

It used to be a popular fallacy, and possibly is so still, that the lion is a clean feeder, and will not touch carrion, or indeed feed on the flesh of any animal which he has not killed himself. The fact is that he is quite the reverse of choice or delicate as regards food. Should he come across a dead animal of any kind, killed by a human hunter, he will not go a step further to look for game, but will make a meal forthwith on the carcase that chance has thrown in his way. Nor is he at all particular as to the condition of such a carcase; as long as there is any meat left on it he will eat it, and I have known lions to feast night after night on the putrid carcases elephants in preference to killing fresh meat for themselves, although game of all kinds was w abundant in the immediate neighbourhood. Although the lion habitually preys upon every kind of South African game with the exception of the elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus, yet in a wellstocked game country, where he can take his choice, his taste seems to incline to the buffalo and Burchell's zebra rather than to any of the antelope tribe. Whether it is that these animals are less wary, and therefore more easily caught than antelopes, of LION] I do not know, but it is certain that wherever large herds of buffaloes still exist -I speak of herds of two or three hundred animals together-lions will be found following them about, just as the grey prairie wolves are said to have hung constantly upon the outskirts of the great herds of bison which once roamed over the wide plains of North America. Thus, wherever buffaloes and Burchell's zebras to-day still exist in large numbers, as in the country to the north and south of the lower course of the river Pungwé, there also one may expect to find lions numerous.

Specific Characters and Habits. It has often been asserted that in South Africa, and in other portions of that continent as will be found to differ one from another to an extraordinary degree in the development of their manes, if the extreme forms are taken.

Speaking generally, the wild lion of Southern Africa has a poor mane, covering little more than the neck and chest, with a tag on the top, extending backwards between the shoulder blades, and lions with long full black manes covering the whole shoulder as well as the neck are quite exceptional. In the course of five and twenty years spent in the interior of Southern Africa, I have seen a large number of wild lion skins; but although amongst these were a few with heavy manes which also had tufts of long dark hair in the flanks, yet A YOUNG LIONESS. well, I believe, there exist three distinct types of lion, each of which possesses such well defined characteristics as to entitle it to be ranked as a sub-species or constant variety, if not as a true species. This assertion will not, however, stand the test of careful and exhaustive investigation; for, although I grant that there is a wide superficial difference between a lion with a full black mane, and the animal that is so destitute of mane as to look more like a lioness than a lion, whilst the third so-called species -that is, the lion with the full yellow mane differs considerably in appearance from either, it will yet be found that if a large number of lion skins be examined, they can be arranged in a series showing every stage of variation in the length and abundance and colour of the mane, from the comparatively poor-looking beast, with little or no mane at all, to the magnificent animal whose whole neck, chest, and shoulders are covered with a luxuriant growth of soft silky black hair. Then again you do not find different types of lions each inhabiting a well-defined area; throughout South Africa, wherever these animals occur, they until the other day I never saw the skin of a wild lion with the whole belly covered with long hair, as is constantly the case with menagerie animals.

The history of the skin in question is that it is that of a lion which was killed in South Africa some eighty years ago, very much further south (and, if on one of the high plateaux of the Cape Colony, the